U.S., U.K. Vow to Pursue Hostage Takers

The British and U.S. defense leaders vowed Saturday to go after the perpetrators of the Algerian terrorist attacks as well as Islamist militants fighting in Northern Mali.

U.S. Secretary of Defense and British Defense Minister Philip Hammond held a joint press conference in London on Sunday to provide updates on the Algeria hostage crisis. They reported that the situation had ended with more deaths. Photo: Getty.

At a joint news conference with his British counterpart, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said no terrorist group can attack the U.S. and "get away with it."

"Just as we cannot accept terrorist attacks against our cities, we cannot accept attacks against our citizens and our interests abroad," Mr. Panetta said at a London news conference with his British counterpart as the three-day crisis was ending on a tragic note. "Neither can we accept an al Qaeda safe haven anywhere in the world."

Philip Hammond, the British defense minister, added Britain's pledge: "The full force of the United States, United Kingdom and African countries will bear down upon them," he said.

Algerian television broadcast amateur video it said was filmed by a hostage freed in the standoff with Islamic extremists at the Ain Amenas gas plant in the Sahara desert. The video could not be independently verified. Video: A.P./Ennahar TV.

But as U.S. officials and their allies consider their next steps in Africa, the Algeria crisis demonstrates the outer limits of U.S. influence in Africa's al Qaeda fight.

Neither defense leader on Saturday spelled out precisely what their response would be. U.S. officials have said privately in recent days that the Algerian attack may require that they step up a counterterrorism campaign against militant groups in Africa, potentially including special operations forces or increased surveillance by unmanned drones.

Mr. Panetta mentioned U.S. counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen and added: "Now we will do it in North Africa." He offered no specifics.

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Algerian gendarmes escort a freed Norwegian hostage at a police station in In Amenas on Saturday.
Reuters

Officials have linked the attack in Algeria with the militant groups in northern Mali, in particular Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, that are waging a war against the central government based in the country's south, and face a week-old French intervention.

To stem a rise of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, the U.S. has dispatched military advisers and trainers to a swath of countries from Senegal to Chad.

But those officials enjoy little influence over how terrorism is fought in Algeria, the largest country in Africa, and the birthplace of AQIM, which arose from Algeria's decade-long civil war.

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The gas plant and the town of In Amenas in Algeria is seen in this image taken by satellite.
Reuters

U.S. officials complain privately that the former client state of the Soviet Union is both too heavy-handed in its pursuit of Islamists, and simultaneously too lax at stopping the cross-border flow of foreign fighters and weapons into Mali's north.

In recent months, Algeria's stance appeared to show bending room, as Mali's civil war escalated, U.S. officials said. The partnership, at least publicly, warmed.

As Algeria sought to try negotiations with Mali's AQIM sect, the U.S. backed those talks, with Hillary Clinton echoing Algeria's pro-negotiation stance in a September speech to the United Nations. Mrs. Clinton visited Algeria in October, with counterterrorism a major issue on her agenda.

"Definitely, there's a greater openness," a U.S. State Department official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly, said at the time. "It's an opportunity to move things forward."

Mrs. Clinton spoke several times this week with Algerian leaders, but this week's crisis raised questions about the rapprochement.

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British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, left, and U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrive for a joint press conference in London on Saturday.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

"Western countries are going to have to work with the neighboring countries… Mali, Mauritania, Niger," said Mr. Atallah. "They [Algeria] would rather do it on their own, without any outside intervention."

Earlier this month the French launched a military campaign against AQIM and other militant groups, aiming to roll back the Islamists' advance from Northern Mali.

French officials have been requesting aid from allied countries, including the U.S. U.S. officials have endorsed the French campaign, but Washington thus far has placed strict limits on its support for the intervention.

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